Mary229

It is obviously a successful program.  Demand is high right now and little dynamic pricing is coming into play. 

The usual time that all guests must leave is no later than 9:30.  You should get to the airport at least 2 hours ahead of time, 3 hours is better 

15 minutes ago, slewis7 said:

We are currently on the Viking Mars.  We had 2 scheduled ports in Greenland and did not make either of them.  Viking has been sailing this itinerary for 2 years and to my understanding has never made any ports in Greenland this early in the season.  My question is why include ports that you are highly unlikely to make, resulting in unhappy passengers?

I think the demand is so high the lines are to put it charitably “trying to accommodate all customers”.  We actually had an Alaskan voyage scheduled for June but it was so crowded there the line asked for volunteers to move and we moved to Iceland for the active volcanos. 
 

as a speculation, maybe it is also because so many people have moved south in the past 5 years that many are now looking for a cool clime for vacation.  

I have never been asked for my age except for travel insurance quotes. Cruise ships usually ask DOB   Are you doing a quote or a checkin 

1 minute ago, shadow 123 said:

That happened to me on my 21 day Panama canal cruise this year. They canceled the Panama canal and a lot of the other ports that I wanted to see. I thought about canceling but I didn't. But there was no compensation. At least I didn't get any. It really was my choice to stay. I guess I could have canceled so I'm not really looking for compensation.

That’s unfortunate,  the canal is now at normal levels.  Last year the levels were quite low. 

5 minutes ago, shadow 123 said:

I was uncomfortable. They can see in at night if the lights are on as far as I know. That's what I heard  but I'm not sure, I kept the drapes closed.

We tested it when we had a lanai and could not see in. I would only leave them open if I was dressed.   I guess if someone pressed their nose to the glass they could see in

5 minutes ago, Lyn2005 said:

Oh OK. We have a lanai room booked.  I was pretty sure it's the same size as the Oceanview on the same floor.

They are the same size except for a few aft OVs are a bit larger.  Some of the insides are pretty large also. I like the view but it is also a very sociable deck to be on plus you are close to the dining room , lounges,theater and shops 

3 hours ago, Lyn2005 said:

Smaller than which room?

All of the rooms on the Promenade (not the interiors) are smaller as to give room for the promenade.  I prefer them as I spend a lot of time on the promenade.   The lanais are a bit too pricey for my tastes, one can just as well get an OV which is the same size and on the promenade.  The promenade is perfect for glacier viewing. 

Have fun as long as you want.  If you intend to be gone more than 24 hours it is a good practice to let them know. One never knows what can occur to the ship or to you, the more people who are aware of your intentions the better 

On the Pinnacle class ships they now have a coffee bar in the lido.  Does anyone know if that is available on any other classes of ships?  

13 hours ago, CNSJ said:

We just flew JetBlue from US East Coast to Amsterdam.  Great flight both ways.  

Large screens on backs of seats in coach.  As a bonus, we had an empty seat between us both ways!

 

 

I just signed up for Jet Blue’s program.  They don’t have much of a presence in my market but hope to try them one day. 

Greenland is often impacted by sea ice. On a recent cruise the pax were compensated with a nice package to soften the blow.  If I recall correctly all port fees were returned, a modest extra OBC offered and a 10% discount on future cruises.  Many cruise ships are now going to Greenland in early summer, I think early to mid August is a better choice.  I think the lines should reevaluate these early arrivals 

13 hours ago, Pyrate13 said:

As a Floridian, I find the heat comments a bit amusing. Not laughing at the folks making them but come live here thru the summer. The temps and humidity mentioned in many of the posts are normal days here. Just say'in.😉

The OP is not going to Florida.  They are going to the western Caribbean which includes Mexico and once away from the shore even a mile the weather becomes much more continental with more heat and humidity.  Remove the breeze and 92 with 95% humidity is miserable.  

3 minutes ago, Gsel said:

@Mary229 I only had to evacuate one airplane in my career, but I would hate to have to do it now. Too many people packed in a much too small space! I would not even consider being a flight attendant now, they have a tough job with not enough pay. 

They are much too close.  They complain about passenger behavior but my goodness, there are just too many people in the space given.  

5 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Turkish Air does have better food/service in Business

Turkish air seems to be the up and comer in the international world as Jet Blue is doing domestically.   Airlines come and go and they come and go in rankings and satisfaction.  I posted a worldwide customer service ranking earlier in this thread.  It took into account luggage losses, on time performance, etc… as well as customer sentiment.  I was stunned to see the big 3 leading in that particular survey. 
 

I live in  hub city of American and that suppresses the market.  I have learned if it is more than 5 hours to fly Business class. 

2 hours ago, Catlover54 said:

Seabourn "luxury" cruise line (also mostly owned by Carnival, just like

The Seabourn website is almost an exact copy of the HAL website once you get past the splash banners. 

2 hours ago, clo said:

We put absolutely everything we can on one card (lots of travel points) and pay off each month. Those cards have HIGH interest rates you lose the benefit if you can't pay it off. I choke when I see the "minimum payment."

We have 3 chase cards.  Every so often we combine the points into the oldest account.  Why? Loss and theft.  We can follow my safety routine - one for my wallet, one for his and one for the home utilities and such.  The fourth card (not chase) is used only for the cruise line hold but never actually used to pay the bill.

35 minutes ago, Gsel said:

I understand what you are saying. After a flight from LAX to Sydney in economy (change in equipment got us bumped from premium) I was almost unable to walk. I am not a large person either but am 5'9 with very long legs. Now if I can't fly premium economy or first I don't go! By the way, I stopped flying before the time I could get retirement because I married. Not allowed then!

Their domestic premium is not worth flying, ditto Delta’s first level premium. I am trying Delta’s next level premium next month hoping for a better experience.  Totally different topic but seat sizes need to be reviewed once again by the FAA, they are getting closer but worse the seats are getting thinner. 

6 minutes ago, KBS1607 said:

My husband brings food but he is needs it so it’s fine with me. 
 

We always travel with at least one fan. 

I always travel with some snacks. Not only for hikes but also for airport delays.  

On 6/25/2024 at 10:14 AM, mwj said:

The problem as I see it is that AA has become a second tier airline. Even though AA has the most flights from our closest airport, we have been avoiding them unless there are no other good options. FE customers may have experiences numerous problems with missed connections that led them to this decision. The points issue being the straw that broke the camel's back.

What do you mean by second tier?  They are the second largest airline in the world.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Largest_airlines_in_the_world
 

those who keep using second tier need to define what they mean.   If they are second tier what is first tier based either on reliable data or multiple personal experiences

3 hours ago, denny1700 said:

There is also this site:

https://www.vesselfinder.com/ports/FRHON001

 

But I still don't see any way to find out which (passenger) cruise ships cross the Atlantic to either Honfleur or Le Havre.  A repositioning cruise would be great, too.

Honfleur is not on a train route to Paris.

He is looking for a non-cruise ship.  For cruise ships one can go to cruisetimetables.com 

Until the Boeing problem and the pilot issues are addressed flights are going to be very changeable.  This really cannot be blamed on the airlines.

American is very hit or miss as to service.  

4 minutes ago, Kay S said:

I guarantee there is a catch.

The catch is likely it is a time limited promo.  Bookings are excellent right now, industry wide. When and if things turn down expect that promo to disappear 

5 minutes ago, Paulinda said:

I made a big mistake on my next cruise...... I booked it online.  Originally I called my PCC to book it but it seems he was out on vacation.  Since the online cost looked tempting, I called his number again and got through to another PCC.  Unfortunately, I had a hard time understanding this agent and misunderstood what she said.  Ergo, I decided to book it myself online.  Shortly after he got back from vacation he did get back to me but said I would have to work with the online system for any assistance.  Usually he will guarantee me a cabin but now I have to wait until the system generates a cabin.   I will always use a PCC in the future. 

You have a period where you can transfer a booking to a TA.  Or you could cancel and rebook. 

7 minutes ago, Btimmer said:

For me, the two basic food groups are popcorn and watermelon.

Watermelon is a summer food group. Watermelon is my breakfast of choice on HAL particularly South American watermelons.   Popcorn is year round.